{"id":11208,"date":"2018-06-27T12:25:05","date_gmt":"2018-06-27T16:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altwire.net\/?p=11208"},"modified":"2023-12-06T06:40:04","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T11:40:04","slug":"bullet-for-my-valentine-gravity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/es\/bullet-for-my-valentine-gravity\/","title":{"rendered":"[Album Review] Bullet For My Valentine – Gravity"},"content":{"rendered":"

If the definition of insanity is \u201cdoing something over and over again and expecting a different result\u201d, then musically you need look little further than the career of Una bala para mi San Valentin<\/strong><\/a>.<\/h4>\n

Of course, it certainly didn\u2019t seem that this was going to be the case at first: with the band\u2019s hugely successful debut El veneno<\/em> and equally enjoyable sophomore effort Scream Aim Fire<\/em> both proving themselves massively entertaining (albeit perhaps a little too angst-ridden at times to be taken 100% seriously), the band established a sound and style that built neatly upon the metalcore and thrash metal influences that they so clearly embraced. And in raw technical skill alone clearly had more than a competent amount of ability.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, while the band\u2019s third effort Fiebre <\/em>certainly saw something of a quiet shift in focus to lean more heavily on the thrash metal side of things, by the release of Temper Temper <\/em>and the group\u2019s 2015 Veneno<\/em>, it was becoming all too clear that Una bala para mi San Valentin<\/a><\/strong> were running out of steam. And running out muy<\/em> quickly.<\/p>\n

Sure, the blistering guitar solo crescendos were still prominent and the technical ability of the band easily remained, but from Temper Temper<\/em>-onwards an ominous feeling of perhaps having already heard this all before was very rapidly seeping in. The group\u2019s dedication to their craft was always admirable \u2013 this cannot be ignored, but it unfortunately came down to the actual song writing<\/em> where things were often at their worst.<\/p>\n

Be it the awkward delivery of \u201ctemper, temper \u2013 time to explode, feels good when I lose control\u201d<\/em>, or perhaps the dreadfully dull \u2018Worthless\u2019 (\u201cyou can keep all your apologies, those words are worthless to me\u201d<\/em>), the simple issue with much of the band\u2019s post-Scream Aim Fire<\/em> material is abundantly clear: while competent, it\u2019s also undeniably bland at times, insipidly masquerading under the guise of something far better and often falling flat as a result.<\/p>\n

With all this in mind, the fact that Gravedad <\/em>has been heavily promoted as a drastic (or rather, \u201cdrastic\u201d in the context of Una bala para mi San Valentin<\/strong>) departure from the group\u2019s former style immediately proves itself interesting, but perhaps too late in the game: this is a stylistic shift that should have occurred a literal decade ago, following the release of Scream Aim Fire<\/em> as an attempt to expand their sound for better or worse, instead of insisting on doing the same thing over and over again for a decade and simply just expecting things to change by themselves.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now sure, it\u2019s obvious from a mere glance that Gravedad <\/em>is finally an indication of change in the repertoire of Una bala para mi San Valentin<\/strong>, but before this decision can even be comprehended it\u2019s also well worth noting that in the group\u2019s decision to utilise far simpler riffs and rid themselves of the spectacular thrash metal guitar solos of Michael Paget<\/strong>, Gravedad <\/em>isn\u2019t a step forward: it\u2019s a huge leap backwards into the nu-metal sound of the band\u2019s earliest incarnation (Jeff mat\u00f3 a John<\/strong>), albeit with the shiny production values that money and success brings to the table. In short, in stripping things down to a far more simplistic structure and emphasizing on anthemic, catchy choruses, Gravedad <\/em>very much resembles something in between Papa cucaracha<\/a><\/strong>'s F.E.A.R<\/em> y Tr\u00e1eme el horizonte<\/strong>'s That\u2019s The Spirit<\/em>. And this unfortunately isn\u2019t a very good thing.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a certain irony to the fact that Gravedad<\/em>\u2019s debut single \u2018Don\u2019t Need You\u2019 (released almost two years <\/em>prior to the actual album) also happened to be the album\u2019s heaviest track: it\u2019s easily the most scream-heavy, features some thrashy instrumental-work that has an energetic bounce throughout, and the 50-seconds-or-so of introductory ambiance genuinely intrigues before the wall of guitar distortion slams into your face.<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, there\u2019s nothing that especially stands out to be complained about when regarding \u2018Don\u2019t Need You\u2019 \u2013 it\u2019s still essentially the same thing once again, but enough fun to be enjoyable. Of course, this was then followed up with second single \u2018Over It\u2019, which immediately delights in recycling the introductory guitar riff of Tr\u00e1eme el horizonte<\/strong>\u2019s \u2018Happy Song\u2019, before the track promptly proceeds to display exactly the attitude that has fed into much of the sound of Gravedad<\/em>: being simplistic and catchy, and essentially rehashing the sound of the last two decades of nu-metal, \u201cbreathe in, breathe out \u2013 just stop \u2018cause I\u2019m about to break.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Elsewhere, \u2018Leap of Faith\u2019 opens the album in a fairly self-explanatory fashion: it essentially re-treads the same territory as the following \u2018Over It\u2019, albeit with a slightly more cinematic approach, while \u2018Letting You Go\u2019s Rompiendo a Benjamin<\/a><\/strong>-esque riffage and aesthetics make for a half-decent instrumental side of things, but the lyricism is woefully generic throughout much of the track (\u201cfirst you wanna hate me, then you wanna love me, this is how I\u2019m feelin\u2019, I\u2019m just letting you know.\u201d<\/em>)<\/p>\n

In fact, it\u2019s not at all that much of a stretch to state that this is easily Una bala para mi San Valentin<\/strong> at their most uninspired lyrically: \u2018Piece of Me\u2019s horrendously bored offering of \u201cyou lost my sympathy\u201d<\/em> y \u201clet it sink or swim\u201d<\/em> do little to evoke anything other than irritability, while \u2018Gravity\u2019s gang-vocal delivery of \u201cam I falling to pieces\u201d<\/em> and endless \u201cwhoa-oh\u201d<\/em>\u2019s are the same-old, same-old of an era\u2019s worth of angsty radio rock. Also ironically, \u2018Over It\u2019 actually proves itself to be something of a self-fulfilling prophecy right from the very first line: \u201cafter all this time, you still couldn\u2019t recognize that your problem lies in a vicious circle.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And that is exactly what Gravedad <\/em>ends up being: a vicious circle. There\u2019s notable effort in making the album as entertaining as possible, but this ends up being to a fault \u2013 in sacrificing the technical ability often displayed throughout the band\u2019s career (in an attempt to keep things casually enjoyable), what you are essentially left with is your standard everyday metalcore\/nu-metal act. There\u2019s nothing that particularly stands out as new or even slightly innovative throughout Gravedad<\/em>, it\u2019s just bland<\/em>. However, had the group decided to proceed with just another Veneno<\/em>\/Temper Temper<\/em>, the odds that this would have actually produced anything interesting after repeating the formula for five records straight is extremely unlikely.<\/p>\n

Of course, the most glaringly frustrating thing here is actually incredibly simple: Una bala para mi San Valentin<\/strong> are (and always have been) a band with a huge amount of technical proficiency and ability, and in being so have always<\/em> had the capability of producing fantastic material. True, technical ability does not always equal good or even solid material, but there\u2019s certainly enough effort and heart within Una bala para mi San Valentin<\/strong> to argue their case.<\/p>\n

This is a band that clearly puts in a huge amount of work and devotion to their craft, but if Gravedad<\/em> does anything else, it renders that effort extremely questionable in how unforgivably uninspired the album feels. In short, Una bala para mi San Valentin<\/strong> have succeeded in breaking their mold enough to provide an album that is catchy and accessible, but in doing so have risked giving the band\u2019s following exactly the right kind of anthem that could prove all-too self-fulfilling: \u201cI\u2019m over it \u2013 so over it.\u201d <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If the definition of insanity is \u201cdoing something over and over again and expecting a different result\u201d, then musically you … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":11209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1508],"class_list":["post-11208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-bullet-for-my-valentine","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}